Wén-kāng 文康, style name Tiěxiān 鐵仙, pen name Yānběi Xiánrén 燕北閑人 (“The Idle Man North of Yān”), was a Manchu-Bannerman novelist of the Qīng dynasty active approximately 1842–1851. He is the author of Érnǚ Yīngxióng Zhuàn 兒女英雄傳 (KR4k0105, KR4k0106).
According to the 1878 preface by Mǎ Cóngshàn 馬從善 (the only biographical source), Wén-kāng was the second grandson of the Grand Secretary Lèbǎo 勒保 (posthumous name Wénxiāng 文襄公), a prominent figure of the late Qiánlóng–Jiāqìng period. Wén-kāng himself entered official life by purchase (zī 資) as a department director (láng-zhōng 郎中) in the Court of Colonial Affairs (Lǐfānyuàn 理藩院), then served as a prefect (jùnshǒu 郡守) and rose to circuit intendant (guānchá 觀察). He was appointed Resident-General (zhù-Zàng dàchén 駐藏大臣) but died before taking up the post. In his final years the family fortune was dissipated by his sons, and he lived in poverty, composing the novel as self-consolation. His exact birth and death dates are unrecorded; Wilkinson gives “fl. 1842–51.”
CBDB id 62090 (CBDB record “文康”, no dates). CBDB id 500367 is a second record for a homonymous person with no dates; disambiguation is uncertain. Neither record provides birth or death years. Note: there is a completely distinct person named 文康 who was a Yuán-dynasty Chán monk and author of a yǔlù (see 文康).
Note: the file 文康 in this knowledge base refers to the Yuán-dynasty Chán monk Mùān Wénkāng 穆菴文康 (DILA id A000177), a completely different person from the Qīng novelist documented here.